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[CookinFlat6]

"Two little ducks went swimming one day,
Over the pond and far away,
Daddy duck cried 'quack, quack, quack, quack'
But no little ducks came swimming back!

Outstanding

heres my humble attempt

Ducks and Lemons are yellow
But violets are blue
Button is a
And so is you know who

[What's Burning?]

What the hell guys?

[sagi58]

oi... Mamma mia!!

[racechick]

What the hell guys?

Duck songs WB! Get with it!

[sagi58]

What the hell guys?

Duck songs WB! Get with it!

You have to forgive WB, racey!! The ducks making the biggest splash in the U. S. of A. belong to a dynasty:

[youtube]rOwTY9ijODM[/youtube]

[CookinFlat6]

Here's a quack from the past

[youtube]6getJuN0ooc[/youtube]

Back on topic, McLaren will have to line up all their ducks to do well in 2014

[CookinFlat6]

Pretty harsh appraisal of Mckarens 2013

http://t.co/NPT5T6mPy0

Every thing said has been pointed out this thread years ago
The most important points though are as follows

Jenson Button should have known better when he predicted after Jerez testing, “This year’s car is the best we’ve ever made – I know the engineers have left absolutely no stone unturned in wringing every ounce of performance from every available area.”

A month later he trumpeted, “In terms of the car itself – the MP4-28 – it’s very good. We have had a few issues which have set us back a little bit, but I feel that the car in Melbourne will be strong.”

How wrong he was. He must thus shoulder some of the blame for making all the wrong noises, encouraging his team to persevere with a car that never looked anything like it’s predecessor, or even came close for that matter.

I.e his feedback skills are next to none, yet Whitmarsh tells after 2013 that he is PEERLESS at feedback and leaves him in charge for 2014

With McLaren F1 team management under pressure to perform and in the end not delivering, they found themselves a scapegoat in Sergio Perez, whom they sent packing despite the Mexican actually doing relatively well for the team

Yup

And adding insult to injury they grovelled apologetically for firing Perez, while triumphantly heralding the arrival of Kevin Magnussen, as if this unknown quantity is to be their saviour. It all stank of a huge cover-up by those who should really have been axed – the senior managers.

Yup

McLaren seem to have forgotten that they are like Ferrari, an iconic Formula 1 racing team with a huge and proud history in the sport. They have a huge following of dedicated fans and a legacy of note. For these reasons alone they have a responsibility to deliver at the very highest level, all of the time.

Yup

Sources at the team have revealed (off the record) that Michael’s abrasive attitude did not help McLaren in their attempt to keep Lewis Hamilton from moving to Mercedes. The 2008 World Champion was also no fan of the Australian.

Yup

Had it been McLaren Football Club the manager would have been long gone, and his backroom staff too…

[racechick]

Yep. We saw the writing on the wall but were dismissed as loonie fringe conspirators. Well at least it's in the open now and everyone can see the sad sorry mess that the great McLaren has become of late.

[CookinFlat6]

Whats hearbreaking is that nothing has changed. Once again they start a new season with almost everyone having wiped the slate clean and dismissed the past as a blip. Whitmarsh makes some noises about Alonso, but fundamentally nothing at all has changed.

They are back as credible competitors for next year and building up expectations. Whitmarsh is already telling us they are taking a massive gamble on Mag, they are preparing the ground for next years excuses 'we tried a gamble it didnt work, next year we will get it right'
They are taking a massive gamble by having Button as the lead driver in a year of massive change and massive in season development.

One one hand they tell us its a massive weight on a young drivers shoulders to step up to McLaren, like with Perez, they tell us not many can step up to the expectations, then they tell us they will protect Mag from the pressures of F1, then they tell us they expect him to be as good as Lewis.

How can a boss who considers Button PEERLESS at development after 2013 still be in a job? Politics, the owners, the Bharainis are more interested in swanning around at PR events with the British DTI and dont care less if Mclaren finish 2nd or 7th. They own a British engineering firm and that comes in handy when those pesky shiites are revolting for more power and need to be put down hard.

2014 is a disaster in waiting that will make 2013 look like a good year, but in a way thats good because big changes will have to be made for Honda in 2015

[racechick]

It's no secret that I'm not keen on JB. But to be fair to him McLaren's woes cannot be laid at his door. He plays to his skills, a whisper here, a joke there, a 'meal out on me guys' , a little knife in the back there. But any team worth their salt should manage the situation. And going back, why was Lewis sidelined? Where were the bosses? Why was Jenson allowed to dictate the new car? Why was Michael given so much prominence? It comes out now that Lewis wasn't keen...and he wouldn't have been able to hide it, Jenson would have been able to play it. Something is seriously wrong at McLaren to let this situation persist year on year. Huge change is required!

[CookinFlat6]

Something is seriously wrong at McLaren to let this situation persist year on year. Huge change is required!

Something is very disturbing

The boys with slicked back hair and fun steak dinners are more important than the boys with talent

Somebody said Sam Michael was the next McLaren boss and the undisturbingly visually challenged but talented Paddy Lowe was suddenly
The whole team focused on turning a into a swan and the undisturbingly visually challenged but talented Lewis was suddenly

[racechick]

And whose paying the price for that little charade now?

[CookinFlat6]

And whose paying the price for that little charade now?

2014 could be back to driving skills and engineering cleverness, perhaps no place to hide for the talkers and disturbers

Could be interesting, Ron certainly doesnt appear to feel that Mclaren is going the way it has historically. The owners could be next to wake up and smell the coffee

[IheartKimmi]

There is no McLaren fan more disappointed in last season than me. It sucks when your team is trawling around in 10th place. I personally don't rate Whitmarsh very highly although I like Jenson. I know he is not the fastest on the grid and he is getting older, but if you were in his place what would you say?
I reckon he is on his last season with a top team, the 'hilarious' quote has been taken out of context I think. To be honest, no-one knows what next season will bring, unfortunately for me as a McLaren fan I am not expecting much from Jenson but hope springs eternal for Kevin

Although Ron Dennis frustrated me with his 'Ron Speak' I admire him as a man and a team boss, I would love to see him back in charge of McLaren. I will be honest here and say that for the betterment of McLaren Jenson should go at the end of 2014. Who should replace him depends on how Maggnusson deals with his Rookie season, I would love the Hulk and Kimmi but I can only dream.

I like Lewis Hamilton the Racing Driver, he is up there among the greats in terms of car handling, what I feel let's him down is his emotions off track. I know some of the posters love him for that but really I don't want tweets of my driver and his dogs in first class. What I am saying is that no-one here really knows what goes on in the backroom, who is back-stabbing etc etc. I tend to look above the gossip and try to focus on the driving on the race weekends. I love the technical threads here but admittedly they sometimes get complicated so I ask my tech savvy husband to explain it in layman's terms.

I know my posting history here is generally me defending Jenson, but I do have some things to contribute and I would like not be be at odds with Lewis fans so in anticipation of the new season and the New Year I hope I can have a place to talk about F1 without being bullied or ridiculed and we can all share the Forum as it was meant to be.

Happy New Year and Happy New Season to you all

[racechick]

Of course you will always have a place to discuss F1 and your views about it will will be welcomed, perhaps not always agreed with but that's the nature of a forum. I share your excitement about Kevin and think he will be one to watch. I hope he's all he s cracked up to be.
I also hope mcLaren sort themselves out , we need them back up in the mix, but I think major changes are needed if that's to happen.

Happy Christmas & new year to you

Ps Roscoe and Coco don't travel first class, they travel in their own private plane with their 'daddy'